Cincinnati Mythbusters

Many unexpected and scary urban legends pose quite a challenge for Cincinnati mythbusters. Because visitors (and locals, too!) often find it hard to distinguish fact from fiction, I've done my best to expose Queen City lore for what it is. Sometimes, however, the facts are inconclusive. In these cases, you'll have to decide for yourself what is Cincinnati urban myth and what is not. Either way, you're likely to agree that the following places have a certain "spook-factor" to them.

Lick Road

You'll find Lick Road located just outside of the city. It winds around Richardson Forest Preserve and includes a now very famous bridge on its path. A woman named Amy is said to haunt this bridge.

Whether Amy is a teenager or a woman in her early 30's is still up for debate. All that is known for sure is that Amy is in serious need of help. Supposedly, the bridge along Lick Road is the last place Amy was ever seen alive. A date night with her boyfriend purportedly went very wrong and he murdered her there.

Brave souls who dare to look for Amy should take a left at the fork in the main road – but only in the dead of night. Then park your car and wait. You'll know she's present when your windows fog. After just a few minutes, Amy's cry for help will be written across them. If you choose to flash your headlights, you can see Amy's spirit orb float towards your car. And if you dare step out of your vehicle, you can hear her voice whispering and even her screams.

It will never be known whether this Cincinnati urban myth is truth or fallacy. Some report having heard, seen and even felt Amy's presence. Others have tried and failed to find any indication of Amy at all.

Dead Man's Curve

Dead Man's Curve is said to be at the junction of Routes 222 and 125 in Cincinnati. The urban myth is really less about the curve, however, and more about the dead man haunting it.

According to legend, an accident involving two vehicles, and only one survivor, occurred here. Soon afterwards, a faceless hitchhiker began walking the road looking for a way home – or a friend to join him in his lonesome afterlife.

Around town, it's said that north of 50 people have been killed along this road. Some say that this number is rather unreasonable and that there have been many accidents, not deaths. Only an extensive look through city records could confirm or deny this.

Driving along this road after 1am is when you're likely to see a sign of this scary urban legend's star. Cincinnati natives claim that he walks along the road and stops to look at the cars going by. If you're lucky enough to glimpse his face, you will see darkness where his features should be. But watch out – some say that he tries to walk out in front of your car to make you swerve. Could it be this unknown ghost that is causing all of the accidents?

From what I can tell, these accounts are only hearsay. I heard from a friend, who heard from a friend, whose brother's girlfriend's best friend saw him. Nothing has ever been caught on film or documented in any way.

Cincinnati Subway

The next stop for Cincinnati mythbusters is the subway. Its construction halted abruptly after WWII and was never restarted due to lack of funding. The only thing really known about this subway system is that somewhere along the unfinished railway lines it is haunted.

Some say that workers who lost their lives during the early years of construction are the ones who haunt it. Others claim it is those who lost their wages after construction was stopped. Supposedly, their only goal is to finish what they started.

Very few people have actually seen theses specters. The truth is, no one is really permitted to visit this area. So, how can the real story ever be known?! All we can do is speculate that somewhere down under the city ghosts are working tirelessly to finish the job that might have supported their family long ago.
Haunted House - The Haunted Hospital

Open only during the month of October, The Haunted Hospital is one of the scariest scary urban legends Cincinnati natives will speak of. So scary, in fact, that if you ride this thrill ride and make it to the end you get your money back. There are commercials on the radio for The Haunted Hospital all through October. Interestingly enough, I have never known anyone to go.

Supposedly, this spooky spot consists of 15 to 20 floors – the numbers vary depending on who you talk to. As you move through the hospital, each floor becomes exponentially more terrifying. Another spook factor? The house is not just a Halloween attraction; it's a real life haunted hospital. Apparently, it was an insane asylum and many of its inhabitants died while they were patients. Their crazy actions could be heard when walking the halls. Even the doctors were said to be crazy, experimenting on patients in cruel ways and continuing to do so in the afterlife.

Maybe the fact that no one has ever been known to go through the hospital should be an indication of its nonexistence. Or perhaps the fact that no one actually knows where it is should give it away. Whether it is real or not, everyone in Cincinnati can attest to hearing about the infamous hospital, even if they haven't experienced it.
A Murderous Wife

In Mason, just north of the city of Cincinnati, a house sits on the corner of Reading Road and Mason-Montgomery Road. It's now the location of a café, but it was once home to a woman and her husband.

Another peculiar case for mythbusters, this Cincinnati area home is said to be the site of a happy marriage turned sour. Terribly sour.

People report that the woman suspected her husband of cheating on her. She wasn't about to let him make a fool of her, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen, went upstairs to where her husband was sleeping and stabbed him to death.

Locals say if you enter the room upstairs, you'll find the husband's blood stains along the walls, furniture turned over and a bloody bed. If you stand looking at the house from Reading Road, the top right window will show the old woman looking out with blood on her clothes. She refused to leave this room for days after the incident, and continues to refuse in the afterlife.

Younger generations in Mason are unlikely to know about this legend because so many businesses have been in and out of the house since the district became commercial. Old timers know, however, that the reason the businesses can't stay is because the woman haunts the home until they leave. Even if owners do not see her, their guests often do. Thus, they refuse to visit again. No matter how she chooses to haunt, the window is the only place you can actually see her face.